


Candlelight

by Rose_of_Pollux



Category: The Man From U.N.C.L.E. (TV)
Genre: Early Days, First Kiss, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-07
Updated: 2017-05-07
Packaged: 2018-10-29 08:13:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 613
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10849992
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rose_of_Pollux/pseuds/Rose_of_Pollux
Summary: Napoleon and Illya must make a decision about their future.  The decision is unanimous.





	Candlelight

**Author's Note:**

> Takes place immediately after "The Fundamental Things Apply"

Napoleon hadn’t really known what to expect when he and Illya had their first date that night, but he was pleasantly surprised to see that their candlelit dinner was going far more smoothly than he had thought it would. It helped that they had known each other for a year now, and had worked together and saved each other’s lives. That sort of thing inevitably forged a strong bond between two people.

And it made talking about their feelings easier, as well. Yes, it was a romantic love they felt for each other, and had been feeling for a while. Illya blushingly admitted he had fallen in love the moment Napoleon had picked him up at the airport, while Napoleon had been flustered and confused before finally realizing that he had been in love during a mission last July. And the more they talked, their hands touching each other across the table, Napoleon could feel the sparks fly.

And the question soon changed from “Is this real?” to “What do we do now?”

“There is a lot to consider, Napoleon,” Illya said. “For one thing, we are in a profession where our day to day futures are not guaranteed.”

“And that’s why I think we should go for it, Illya,” Napoleon said. “If it ends with one of us going down, it’s going to hurt. But I think it will hurt regardless, won’t it?”

Illya paused, recalling the moment he had thought he had lost Napoleon at Niagara Falls, and then nodded.

“You have a point,” he admitted.

“And consider something else,” Napoleon added. “If something were to happen to one of us, what sort of memories would you want the other one to have left? Ones where he would have to regret what could have been? Or memories where he can look back on and cherish because we lived all of our possible moments together to the fullest?”

Illya exhaled, looking up at him.

“Napoleon, I do not want to regret anything,” he said, sincerely. “I love you. And I would be more than willing for us to have a relationship. But…”

“But?”

“Are you certain this is what you really want?”

“What do you mean? It’s my idea.”

“Yes, I know, but… Well, I would hate for you to think that you would be giving up something because of me.”

“Illya, there is nothing else and no one else that I’d be giving up,” Napoleon promised. “I’d been searching for a long time—I won’t deny that. But I didn’t really know what I was searching for—until I met you. And now I know that it was you I was searching for, and nothing else matters. I really can’t explain it, Illya. But sometimes, with these things especially, you just… know. That’s why I think… No, that’s why I _know_ it’s worth the risk.”

Illya nodded in complete and utter agreement, and as they gazed at each other in the candlelight, time seemed to slow down. They had dreamed of this moment, each in his own way, and now, it was coming true at last.

And then, they drew closer, and kissed for the first time. Time seemed to stop completely now; Napoleon’s breath hitched in his chest.

He’d scoffed at the stories about True Love’s Kiss in the past, but he wouldn’t any longer.

Now, he knew it was real.

They pulled apart, and they both began to breathe again, for Illya, like Napoleon, had been temporarily breathless.

“Yeah, I think we’ll be just fine,” Napoleon said, after catching his breath.

“ _Da_ , me too,” Illya said.

And they continued their date in the candlelight, eager for what lay ahead.


End file.
